The present invention relates generally to an improved a self-contained insert mailer and more particularly, to a mailer assembly having insert message sheets and a separate, detachable reply portion incorporated therein.
Various types of mailers are widely used by billing authorities for mailing billing information to customers. To speed the billing process, multi-part billing mailers have been developed which typically contain a billing statement or statements and a preaddressed return envelope inserted within the outgoing mailer envelope.
The U.S. Postal Service issued new postal regulations in 1978, which defined the dimensions of "standard size" first class letter-size mail. These regulations further imposed an additional postage surcharge on "non-standard" sizes, i.e. those pieces which exceeded the regulations' dimensional guidelines. For first class weighing 1 ounce or less, a mail piece was considered "standard" if (1) it had a minimum dimension of 31/2 inches high by 5 inches long, or (2) it had a maximum dimension of 61/2 inches high by 11 inches long, or (3) it exceeded the minimum dimensions and fell under the maximum dimensions, but had a height to length ratio of greater than or equal to 1 to 1.3 and less than or equal to 1 to 2.5. Any envelopes which satisfied this criteria required only normal first class postage; other sizes required additional postage for first class mailing. In order to avoid this postal surcharge, the maximum size envelope and accompanying insert plies which can be used in insert mailers are limited to less than or equal to 61/2 inches high by 11 inches long. As such, the amount of billing or message information in such mailers is restricted to that which can fit on such sized inserts. In order to accommodate customers with large amounts of billing or message information which extend more than 6 inches deep on an insert, mailing authorities are faced with three mailer choices.
First, the mailing authority can use a smaller size typeface on an automated printer and increase the number of lines per inch of billing or message information on its insert. This typically requires that the printer be reprogrammed to accommodate the new typeface and spacing, which is costly and may not ensure that all the information will fit on one insert. Secondly, the mailing authority can mail out a large envelope with large billing insert plies and pay the additional postage, which increases the cost of billing. Thirdly, the mailing authority can send multiple outgoing bills or messages to the customer, which avoids the postal surcharge but effectively multiplies the cost of mailing and/or billing. Therefore, a need exists for an insert mailer having at least one insert ply which is larger than 6 inches high and which ply can accommodate large amounts of billing or message information, and which falls within the Postal Service standard size guidelines.
In addition, the use of optical character readers for processing mail by the U.S. Postal Service is growing. These readers scan the face of mail envelopes to read bar codes (which typically indicate that the mail piece is business reply mail) as well as addresses. The Postal Service has issued specifications for the location of these bar codes and addresses so that the bar codes and addresses of mail pieces fall within the scanning area of the optical character readers.
A typical mailer construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,865, wherein a multi-ply continuous mailer is assembled by aligning a plurality of plies and adhesively securing the front and back plies together to define an outgoing envelope which contains one or more insert message or billing plies. The outgoing envelope, after being opened, is then assembled by the customer to form a return envelope for returning the bill payment. The customer opens the outgoing envelope by removing a tear strip disposed along the top ply to free the insert message plies from the outgoing envelope. The portion of the back ply which remains is folded over the front face of the outgoing envelope to form a return envelope and to conceal the original address.
This mailer construction suffers from several shortcomings. First of all, the insert plies must be sized to lie within the borders of the outgoing envelope. Therefore, the maximum size of the inserts is limited not only by the size of the outgoing envelope, which is typically 6 inches high by 11 to 111/2 inches long, but also by the width of the marginal edge glue strips which hold the outgoing envelope together. These envelope glue strips encroach upon the width of the billing insert and reduce the available billing information area thereon. Moreover, the tear strip which frees the insert message plies and return envelope from the outgoing envelope also encroaches upon the size of the insert. These restrictions on the size of the insert plies, result in an average loss of 1 to 2 inches of vertical billing space on the insert message plies.
Secondly, in this type mailer the billing inserts are contained within a preformed return envelope and therefore must be inserted or stuffed into the outgoing envelope formed by the front and back plies. This insertion step is labor-intensive and is costly.
The self-contained insert mailer of the present invention overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings. A self-contained insert mailer incorporating the principles of the present invention, can accommodate a plurality of billing insert, outgoing and return portion plies as large as 12 to 18 inches high by 11 to 111/2 inches long. When folded along appropriate outgoing envelope fold lines, the final dimensions of the insert mailer of the present invention fall within the Postal Service height to length ratio of greater than or equal to 1 to 1.3 and less than or equal to 1 to 2.5, thereby accommodating larger amounts of billing information and avoiding the first-class surcharge for non-standard sizes. In addition, the addresses and zip codes on the mailer outgoing envelope and mailer return envelope are easily positioned within the prescribed area for optical character reading by Postal Service processing equipment and thus, no reprogramming of the billing print format is necessary.
In one principal aspect of the present invention, a self-contained insert mailer includes a plurality of individual, adjacently overlying plies which are interconnected together to form an insert mailer assembly. The front ply of the mailer assembly defines an outgoing billing envelope. The mailer assembly includes one or more insert plies disposed adjacently beneath the back ply defines a return portion. The insert mailer is folded upon itself along appropriately placed first and/or second fold lines and the front ply adhesively engages the back ply to form an outgoing envelope which has a height to length ratio which falls between 1 and 1.3 and 1 to 2.5.
In another principal aspect of the present invention, the insert mailer assembly includes a second back ply disposed adjacently beneath the back ply and is adhesively secured to the back ply to define a return envelope having an envelope pocket therebetween. Similar to the outgoing envelope, the return envelope also has a height to length ratio which falls between 1 to 1.3 and 1 to 2.5.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the insert mailer assembly back ply includes adhesive means peripherally disposed thereon and a return portion fold line separating the back ply into a return portion and a message portion, such that the back ply return portion may be easily removed and mailed back by the addressee and is not damaged when the back ply is folded upon itself along the return envelope fold lines thereof.
In yet another principal aspect of the present invention, the front ply and the one or more insert plies of the mailer assembly include an image transfer coating on the rear faces thereof so that the billing information can be printed onto a mailer by an impact printer after assembly rather than prior to assembly. The billing information is transferred to the underlying plies. This allows the billing authority to print its own mailers, and eliminates the need for billing printing to be done offsite at the mailer assembly plant.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.